Written by:
Zarah Mae Torrazo is Head of Content at Spacer Technologies, the company behind Parkhound, WhereiPark, and Spacer.com. With 10 years of writing experience in parking, real estate, and finance, she creates content that helps drivers save money and property owners earn income from their space.
Edited by:
Louise is an SEO Writer for Spacer Technology, creating content for the Parkhound, WhereiPark, Spacer.com.au, and Spacer.com brands. Based in the Philippines, she transitioned from her government office job to copywriting in 2012 and has stayed in content production since.
Reviewed by:
Born with an innate entrepreneurial spirit and a thirst for all things tech, Mike founded his first business at the age of 14 by developing websites for SMEs in the mid-90’s. Now with decades of hands-on experience building startups, Mike is a seasoned tech entrepreneur with a proven track record of scaling high-growth tech companies.
Reading time: 12 mins
Parking management in commercial and strata properties has become more complex over time. In a classic setup, spaces were once assigned to specific tenants or residents, with a small number of bays set aside for visitors or service vehicles.
Today, the same car park often has to support a wider mix of users, from full-time occupants to short-term visitors, contractors, and changing tenant needs. In many buildings, parking supply is not the problem, it’s the allocation of spaces.
RMIT’s Centre for Urban Research highlights how common this mismatch has become. A national study of apartment residents found that while around two-thirds of households had the right number of parking spaces, 20 per cent had more bays than they needed, and 14 per cent did not have enough. More than one in ten households did not own a car at all, yet still paid for allocated parking.
As a result, many property teams end up managing parking through manual updates and one-off exceptions. This creates a steady stream of admin work over time, without adding much operational value.
According to Parkhound’s Senior Commercial Manager Tom Pitfield, this is one of the most common issues he sees across commercial and strata properties when it comes to managing parking spaces.
“In a lot of buildings, parking isn’t fully used, but it’s still treated as if it’s fully allocated. Property teams spend time managing access, exceptions, and enquiries for bays that sit empty most days.”
Modern parking management focuses on simplifying these processes. “Instead of adding more systems or layers of technology, the aim is to reduce internal involvement by clarifying allocation rules, separating different types of parking demand, and removing manual work where it no longer makes sense,” he explained.
This article looks at what modern parking management means in practice for commercial and strata properties.
We’ll break down where traditional approaches tend to create unnecessary admin, the practical benefits of a more streamlined setup, and how property teams can modernise parking operations without disrupting tenants or day-to-day building management.
Many commercial and hotel properties have parking spaces that sit empty for much of the day but still need to be managed. Parkhound helps property teams hand off that demand and reduce internal admin at the same time.
With Parkhound, you can:
In many buildings, parking management becomes complicated simply because too many small decisions are handled manually. Property teams often handle access requests and exceptions, even when the rules are simple.
According to Tom, this pain point shows up across a wide range of commercial and strata properties.
“We regularly see buildings where parking rules are simple on paper, but the day-to-day admin adds up because every small change is handled manually. Even underused bays still generate emails, approvals, and follow-ups.”
A modern approach starts with clear rules for access and allocation. This cuts down repeat work and follow-ups.
It also makes usage easier to see. Looking at how parking is used across the day and week shows which bays are in demand and which are often empty. That makes it easier to adjust allocation based on reality, not assumptions.
Another key change is separating long-term parking from short-term needs. Tenant or resident bays are managed differently from visitor, contractor, or overflow parking, so temporary demand doesn’t create ongoing admin.
Modern parking management makes life easier for property teams by cutting down day-to-day admin. The benefits are practical and show up quickly in how much time and effort parking actually takes to manage.
Modern systems make it easier to see how parking is actually used across the day and week. This helps property teams identify bays that are allocated but rarely occupied and adjust usage accordingly.
This also means drivers no longer have to waste time driving around looking for parking. This reduces traffic congestion, lowers carbon emissions, and improves the overall parking experience.
Admin impact:
Less time managing unused bays that still require oversight.
A modernised property management system can help establish clear and centralised access rules. This reduces the need for manual updates and one-off approvals. In turn, property teams can apply changes once and let the rules do the work.
One-off parking requests are a major time drain for property teams, especially when they’re handled through emails or casual requests.
Admin impact:
Fewer emails, fewer approvals, and fewer follow-ups.
Modern parking management platforms allow multiple payment methods. This includes contactless cards, mobile wallets and prepaid cards. Options like “scan and pay” also means you can quickly pay parking fees without waiting in lines or handling cash.
And with people increasingly going cashless, this approach aligns with how Australians already pay.
Data from the Reserve Bank of Australia shows that cash accounts for around 16% of in-person transactions in 2022, meaning fewer than one in five payments are made with cash. This figure may be significantly lower in current times.
Having several payment and billing methods not only speeds up the entry and exit process, but it also reduces invoicing errors, disputes, and reconciliation work. Property teams spend less time correcting mistakes or responding to payment queries.
Admin impact: Less time spent on finance-related parking tasks.
There’s a saying that goes “Knowledge is power” and this rings true when it comes to parking management. Basic usage data helps property teams move away from typical misconceptions about demand. Seeing when bays are busy or idle supports clearer decisions around allocation and availability.
Admin impact:
Fewer reactive changes and fewer repeated adjustments.
A streamlined parking management system means there’s less manual checks, exception handling, and reactive fixes and ultimately lowers ongoing operational effort. Over time, this translates into reduced labour input rather than one-off cost savings.
Facility teams are embracing digital and automated tools because they help cut repetitive, manual work. In fact, the Australian facility management market is projected to grow from around USD 14.2 billion in 2024 to over USD 23.7 billion by 2032 as technology adoption accelerates operational efficiency.
Admin impact:
Less hands-on involvement from property teams over time.
You don’t need to replace your entire parking setup to make it easier to manage. In most cases, a few practical changes remove the bulk of day-to-day admin.
Start with a typical week. Which bays are used daily, and which ones sit empty? This helps highlight gaps between allocation and real demand.
Visitor access, short-term parking, and one-off changes usually generate far more emails and follow-ups than long-term tenant parking.
Tenant or resident parking works best when it’s managed separately from visitor, contractor, or overflow use. Mixing them tends to create exceptions and confusion.
Clear separation keeps rules simpler and reduces repeat requests.
Look for tasks that rely on emails, spreadsheets, or one-off approvals. These are usually the easiest to simplify. Even small changes, like applying rules consistently instead of case by case, can remove repeat work.
Not all parking needs to sit with property teams. Core tenant parking may stay internal, while short-term or overflow demand can often be handled externally. Offloading these areas reduces admin without affecting control.
Not all parking demand needs the same level of attention. In many properties, a small set of use cases creates most of the admin, especially when parking needs change often.
External parking demand management tends to work best in the following situations:
These use cases are typically non-core but admin-heavy. This is where Parkhound fits operationally.
Parkhound allows property teams to externalise short-term and flexible parking demand while keeping control over availability and access. Day-to-day bookings and enquiries are handled externally, so internal teams aren’t managing individual renters or one-off requests.
Used this way, external parking demand management supports modern parking management by reducing admin where it adds the least value.
Modernising parking usually starts with good intentions, but a few common missteps can quietly recreate the same admin problems in a new format.
Putting the same manual steps into a new system doesn’t reduce workload. If approvals, exceptions, and follow-ups stay the same, the admin stays too. Before changing tools, it helps to remove steps that no longer serve a purpose.
Some types of parking create far more work than value. Visitor parking, short-term use, and temporary arrangements often pull property teams into day-to-day coordination that doesn’t need to sit internally.
Highly specific rules tend to create more questions than clarity. The more exceptions that exist, the more often teams have to intervene. Simpler rules are easier to manage and easier for users to follow.
Parking needs tend to change over time. Allocations that made sense when a building opened may not match how it’s used now. Reviewing usage periodically helps avoid ongoing admin tied to outdated assumptions.
Parking shouldn’t be something property teams have to think about every day. When the rules are clear and short-term needs are handled properly, it takes far less effort to manage.
For properties looking to reduce the admin tied to short-term or flexible parking demand, Parkhound offers a way to manage those use cases externally while keeping control over availability and access. This allows parking to support the property without becoming an ongoing operational burden.
Zarah Mae Torrazo is Head of Content at Spacer Technologies, the company behind Parkhound, WhereiPark, and Spacer.com. With 10 years of writing experience in parking, real estate, and finance, she creates content that helps drivers save money and property owners earn income from their space.
Zarah Mae Torrazo is Head of Content at Spacer Technologies, the company behind Parkhound, WhereiPark, and Spacer.com. With 10 years of writing experience in parking, real estate, and finance, she creates content that helps drivers save money and property owners earn income from their space.
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